# brat

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹæt/ · frequency rank #15,971

## Definitions
1. A human child.
2. A human child.
3. A human child.
4. A human child.
5. A human child.
6. A turbot or flatfish.
7. A rough cloak or ragged garment.
8. A coarse kind of apron for keeping the clothes clean; a bib.
9. The young of an animal.

## Etymology
Early Modern English (c. 1500) slang term meaning "beggar's child". Possibly from Scots bratchet (“bitch, hound”). Another possibility is that it was originally a dialectal word, from northern and western England and the Midlands, for a "makeshift or ragged garment," from Old English bratt (“cloak”), which is from a Celtic source (Old Irish brat (“cloak, cloth”)). In the sense "characteristic of a confident and assertive woman", coined by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX in her 2024 album Brat.

## Easily confused with
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bt)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-but)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bro)
- **BRB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brb)
- **BSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bsa)
- **Bri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bri)
- **bru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bru)
- **butt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-butt)
- **bros** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bros)
- **bust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bust)
- **bred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bred)
- **brew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brew)
- **Brit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brit)
- **brow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brow)
- **bruh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bruh)
- **Burt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-burt)
- **brig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brig)
- **bray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bray)
- **bree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-bree)
- **brie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brie)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bbrat`, `bratt`, `brrat`, `brta`, `rbat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brat